The Day She Saved Me
by LunchBreakAuthor
Summary: Teddy Grey is 15 years old. He is the perfect student and son. But when his relationship with his absent-minded father becomes unbearable, how far will he go to regain his attention? And when one night of rebellion goes way too far, will anyone be able to save him from his toxic self-indulgent behaviour? Rates M for coarse language, violence and sexual content in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

 _Knock knock knock_

"Come in." an irritated voice answered.

I took a deep breath, and opened the door to my dad's study. I already knew the answer to the question I was about to ask, but maybe this time would be different.

"Hi Dad." I walked in keeping a hand on the door handle.

"Ted, what can I do for you?" He replied, without so much a moments glance up from his computer screen.

 _What can you do for me?_ _You can fuckin look at me when I'm talking to you for starters._ My subconscious glared at him.

"Uhh…I'm a bit stuck with my homework." I began, "I was wondering if-"

"Not right now Ted, I'm busy, go ask your mum."

 _Wow, he didn't even let me get the entire sentence out this time. Awesome._

"Sure." I replied hastily, "I'll go do that."

I stood there for a moment and watched him. He just continued to scowl at the computer screen.

After a few seconds he glanced up from whatever the fuck he was doing.

"Was there something else you needed?" he asked pointedly.

 _You could maybe have a go at being a dad instead of a 24/7 cunt? Oh say that. C'mon say it._ My subconcious urged me on.

Instead I smiled politely and replied "No, sorry."quickly closing the door behind me.

And this is how it had been for the last few weeks…months…years? I really couldn't remember the last time my dad paid any attention to me.

For a while I wondered what I had done wrong. Was he mad at me?

Phoebe skipped past me as I walked down the hallway, heading in the direction I'd just come from.

"He's busy." I said, when I realised where she was headed.

"He's never too busy for me." She smiled, poking her tongue out at me. She opened the door without knocking and just skipped in letting the door close behind her.

I stood there and waited…and waited. After a few minutes I heard them laughing about something.

I stood there a little longer, standing in the middle of the hallway, just staring at the door.

A quiet voice from behind me made me jump.

"Teddy, what are you doing?" my mum asked gently. _How long has she been standing there?_

I shook my head without looking at her, I suddenly realised there was moisture in my eyes.

"Nothing, day dreaming." _About what it would be like to have a dad who gave a shit._

I quickly walked past her with my head down and took the stairs two at a time. I closed the door to my bedroom firmly behind me and threw myself down on the bed.

This is stupid. Why am I letting this bother me?

But I knew why it hurt. It hurt because I'd tried everything I could think of, and nothing I did ever made any difference.

I was a straight A student. I never stayed out late. I always did my homework (even without his help).

All my teachers liked me. I was always considerate and well mannered. I kept my room clean. I always did my chores without being asked to and always without complaint. I saved most of my allowance, so I never had to ask my parents for money for anything. I was the perfect child wasn't I?

I wiped my arm angrily across my eyes and sat up, taking a breath to steady myself.

 _Knock Knock Knock  
_

Shit.

I cleared my throat, hastily wiping my hands over my eyes a few more times to be sure.

"Who is it?"

"It's me." My mum said gently from the other side of the door. "Can I come in?"

I cleared my throat again and quickly grabbed a book from my bedside table to make it look like I had been reading.

"Sure," I said, opening the book to a random page on my lap.

She walked in and shutting the door behind her, turned to face me.

I looked at her expectantly, and she looked back at me. She looked worried and tilted her head to one side as she asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I lied. "Why?"

"Don't lie to me Theodore." _Theodore. Reserved for serious talks or scoldings._

"I am your mother, and it's my job to know when something is bothering you. I know you're 15 now, but you're still my baby." _Definitely not a baby_.

"Tell me what's wrong." She came over to sit next to me on the bed.

"Mum, I honestly have no idea what you're talking about." I lied hastily again, looking back down at my book.

She sighed, reached over and took the book from me.

"Really? Well you've already finished this book, I know because you told me on Tuesday at dinner. Teddy please tell me what's wrong, I can't help you if you don't tell me."

She put her hand on my arm and squeezed it gently.

 _Why bother? She'll just tell you you're being silly. Or selfish. Or irrational…._

When I didn't answer, she took a stab in the dark, and as always, was right on the money.

"Does this have anything to do with your dad?"

I kept my eyes down as I answered. "Why would you think that?"

I could feel her eyes on my face as she answered. "Because I found you standing in the hall staring at his study door 2 minutes ago…"

"I told you, I was day dreaming." I said half-heartedly, I knew she wouldn't believe me.

"You did." She said, but her tone told me she didn't believe it for a second.

"Mum, I have homework to do." I said changing the subject and running my hands through my hair.

"In other words, mum get the hell out of my room." She sighed, standing up to leave.

"I didn't say –" I started to defend myself.

"I know that darling." She smiled, smoothing down my hair. "I just want you to know you can come to me, with anything."

She looked so worried that for a moment I thought about telling her what was bothering me.

But I reconsidered and instead stood up and took a step towards her. I was taller than her now but only just. "I know that mum." I said quietly, and I hugged her.

She seemed surprised at first, but she hugged me back tightly.

I felt better instantly, and I hugged her tighter.

I realise looking back on it now, that I wasn't just hugging her because I needed it.

I was hugging her to say I was sorry. Not just for not sharing my feelings with her…but for what I was about to do.

And for who I was about to become. And that is where this story begins.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi Guys! Thanks for reading :)_

 _I received an 'anonymous' review today stating that it was 'distracting' that I use 'm-u-m' instead of 'm-o-m'._

 _And that because this takes place in AMERICA, I should write like an AMERICAN._

 _Well guess what? I'm an Australian. So fuck you mate :) If it really bothers you that much, go read something else...there are bigger issues in the world. Honestly._

 **Chapter Two**

After a long moment, I let go of her. When I pulled back she had tears in her eyes.

"I can't remember the last time you hugged me like that." She said smiling up at me, "Are you sure you're okay honey?"

"I'm fine mum, I promise, it's just something that I need to work out on my own." I told her gently.

She nodded, and for now she seemed satisfied with my answer.

"I'm going to start dinner," she sniffled, and then laughed at herself, or maybe at me.

She gave my arm another squeeze as she walked past me towards the door.

"I love you Teddy Bear." She sighed, as she opened it.

"I love you too," I said sincerely, "Thanks mum."

She winked at me as she shut the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, I took my phone out of my pocket and opened it up to the messages screen.

Despite my good grades and manners, I was still very popular at school, having money probably helps.

I got along well with everyone, but I had a small group of guys who I'd hung out with since my first day at Bellevue.

I thought for a few moments about which one to text and finally decided on Jesse.

My parents didn't really like Jesse, he was the class clown and he was always getting into trouble for it.

I thought he was hilarious, a little rough around the edges perhaps...but then that was what I needed for what I had in mind.

 **Me:** Hey man, what are you up to?

I swear this guy lived on his phone, he replied almost instantly.

 **Jesse:** Nothin u?

 **Me:** Nothing, do you want to do something tonight?

 **Jesse:** U? ….Do somethin?... On a skool nite?

 **Me:** Fuckin-A, get me out of this house.

 **Jesse** **:** Y wat happened?

 **Me:** Are we going to talk about our feelings all night or are we going to do something?

 **Jesse:** Shit Yea. Meet me at Eyman's in 20?

 **Me:** Cool, see you there.

Eyman's was a pizza joint on Rainier Ave, our usual hang-out on Saturdays.

It just happened to be exactly half way between both our houses, but still a 15 minute bike ride from my place.

I pulled on my hoodie and a clean pair of socks, and made my way back down stairs.

Mum was in the kitchen pulling things out of the refrigerator when I walked in.

She looked up in surprise and raised her eyebrows at my newly donned attire.

"Hey mum, umm Jesse wants to meet up for pizza tonight at Eymans. Is it alright if I go?" I asked as I grabbed my trainers from beside the back door where I'd left them.

"It's a Thursday." She stated, and when I glanced up she was staring at me like i'd grown a new head.

"Yes..." I agreed, "Yes it is." I returned her puzzled stare and waited.

"Well...I suppose that's alright, just don't be out too late. You've got school tomorrow." She spoke slowly, as if she was waiting for me to laugh and say 'just kidding'.

"Sweet, see ya later!" I said as I headed for the door.

"Do you want Taylor to drive you?" She called after me.

 _Hell No._

"No thanks, I'm going to take my bike, bye!" I called as I hurried out the door.

When the cool November breeze hit my face I smiled. I loved the outdoors (even though I didn't get out much)...But this was different, for the first time in a long time, I felt free.

15 minutes later I jumped off my bike outside Eymans, propping it up against the side of the building.

Jesse was leaning up against the wall out front watching me with an amused expression.

"What?" I demanded as I walked over to him.

"It's finally happened." He grinned.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked him, running a hand through my windswept hair.

"You've finally snapped. You've abandoned your robotic-teachers-pet-parents-wet-dream-fucking-they-say-jump-you-say-how-high attitude." He grinned at me expectantly.

"Fuck you asshole, let's get some pizza." I replied leading the way into the restaurant.

"I'm right aren't I?" He continued, following behind me. "You're pulling an Anaken Skywalker."

I ignored him as I ordered our usual from the guy at the counter, paid and lead the way to our regular booth.

"Spit it out man, why this sudden urge to leave the pressure cooker on a school night?" He waited.

I stared at the table for a moment as he sat across from me, thinking about what I was going to say.

"You're right." I said finally, 'I've fuckin had enough."

"WOOOHOO I knew it! I knew it!" Jesse yelled making everyone in the restaurant turn to look at us.

"Dude, chill" I whispered loudly, as the waiter brought over our drinks.

"Sorry man, I've been - well we've all been - waiting for this to happen for a while now." he confessed, still grinning at me like a moron.

That caught me off guard "You have?" I asked.

"Of course!" He said laughing, then he leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "Nobody can be perfect man, but I've never seen anyone try as hard as you do."

I sat quietly staring at him, I didn't really know what to say to that.

"No one can keep that up forever dude, it's crazy." he shook his head and leaned back as the waiter brought our pizza over and set it down.

"It never made a difference anyway, I don't know why I tried so hard in the first place." I mumbled, more to myself than him.

Jesse paused midway through shoving an entire slice of pizza into his mouth, and made a noise that sounded like "Huh?"

I shook my head, "Nothing, doesn't matter." I said quickly, "I just want to get out of my house as much as possible over the next few weeks. Think you can help me with that?"

I asked, picking up my slice of pizza.

He smiled slowly as he chewed and then swallowed loudly.

"I thought you'd never ask." He winked at me conspiratorially.

And as I watched him devour his second slice in the same fashion as the first, I knew I'd chosen well.

Jesse was exactly who I needed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The sun was just falling below the horizon when my phone rang, I pulled it out of my pocket and checked the caller ID.

Mum.

I was about to answer it, but Jesse cleared his throat loudly.

"Do you want to go home right now? Cause you know what'll happen if you answer that" he said pointedly.

"No, I don't want to go home." I replied honestly.

We'd been standing on the foreshore skipping rocks for the last hour or so, the sun had set and the light from the street lamps up on the road was barely reaching us.

"Then don't answer it." Jesse said simply.

I felt a twinge of guilt as I put my phone on silent and slid it back into my pocket.

But I felt something else as well…and it felt good.

Jesse started talking about a girl in his art class called Amber. She sounded like a pretentious snob to me, but he described her like she was some kind of prize.

There was a school dance next week and he was planning on asking her to go with him…

I realised suddenly that I'd never really been interested in any of the girls at school…they were interested in me of course. Well I thought they were. They followed me around and smiled and blinked a lot…

"Are you going?" Jesse's voice interrupted my reverie.

"Where?" I asked, realising that I'd accidentally tuned him out.

"The dance. Next week. Are you going?" He asked again as we walked slowly back up toward the road.

"I've never been to one," I said shrugging.

"I know." He laughed shaking his head, "But that's not what I asked."

We were slowly heading back down the main street towards Eymans, it was pretty dark, I suddenly wondered what time it was.

"Well…I guess I could…do you have to bring a date?" I wasn't sure how these things usually worked. Were dates a prerequisite or optional?

"Well you don't have to…but it's kinda lame if you don't." He replied, "Amber has a friend who's single, she just transferred to Bellevue, she's pretty cute…we could double?" He shoved me playfully, as we reached our bikes.

I shoved him back, "Alright, it's a date." I laughed, as I swung my leg over my bike and pointed it towards home.

"Sweet, I'll see ya tomorrow!" he yelled as he took off in the opposite direction.

"See ya!" I replied as I watched him go.

As we rode out of site I took out my phone, what time is it?

Shit.

4 missed calls, 3 voicemail messages, 5 text messages.

I checked the time, 10:30pm..whoops. I thought about calling home, but decided to just go straight there instead.

I started to put my phone back into my pocket.

All of a sudden bright headlights blinded me, and a huge black Escalade came to a screeching halt in front of where I stood.

Uh Oh.

The passenger side door flew open and my dad jumped out, I could just see in behind him that Taylor was driving. Neither of them looked very happy.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?!" He shouted at me.

I froze, my phone halfway into my jeans pocket.

He looked down at my hand. "Oh, so you do have your phone on you?!" He demanded furiously.

"I was just about to-." I began

"You were just about to get in the car, go, right now!" He said, grabbing the handle bars of my bike.

I jumped off just as he wrenched it towards him and shouted at Taylor to open the back.

He threw the bike into the back of the car with more force than necessary and slammed the door.

I stood silently watching him from the side walk.

As he stormed back around the side of the car and wrenched the back door open.

"Did you hear me?! I said Get. In. The. Car!" he held the door open glaring at me.

I paused for a moment staring at him.

Well this was different. Angry dad…he was looking at me…talking to me...

 _He's glaring and yelling at you_ my subconscious correct me.

Close enough.

I walked slowly to the car and slid into the back seat. As soon as I was in he slammed the door behind me.

He climbed back into the front passenger seat, slamming his door as well.

"Home." He growled, as Taylor put the car into gear and spun around. "I don't know what's gotten into you Ted, but this is unacceptable behaviour." He scolded.

I smiled to myself in the darkness as we sped through the night... _Just you wait._

Thanks guys, sorry this one took me so long. Work has been crazy.

Please send me reviews, I love reading your comments! xx


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

My dad didn't say anything to me as we got out in front of the house.

And he didn't say anything as we walked up to the door.

He maintained his silence as he shut the door behind us and followed me through the hallway.

Maybe he's too mad to speak? I thought to myself.

 _This is working._ My subconscious encouraged me.

I walked into the kitchen and my mum was sitting on one of the bar stools waiting.

She looked relieved when she first saw me, but her relief quickly turned to fury.

"Theodore Raymond Grey, what time do you call this?!" She demanded.

I glanced at the clock on the wall. _Say it._

"10:45." I replied coolly, shrugging my shoulders.

She stared at me for a moment, shocked at my response.

My dad was walking past me as I spoke and that stopped him in his tracks. He turned to face me.

"Do you think this is funny?!" He spluttered, clearly outraged at my answer.

"Was I laughing?" I asked innocently.

I looked from one to the other, waiting for someone to say something. They both just stared at me, obviously lost for words.

"I'm going to go to bed." I muttered, turning towards the stairs.

"No you're not. You're going to come here, sit down and explain yourself." My mother said stiffly.

My dad looked like he was about to explode. Maybe he's going to hit me?

 _Come on, I dare you._ I thought maliciously, staring back at him.

"Christian, why don't you go and make sure Phoebe is asleep, I'll deal with this." My mother said softly.

Dad looked at her in disbelief. But whatever he saw in her face made him reconsider.

"Fine." He grumbled, he headed for the stairs shaking his head as he went.

I stayed where I was.

"Come and sit down." My mum said gently.

"Do I have to?" I replied uncomfortably.

"Yes." She replied firmly.

I walked slowly over to the seat beside her, and sat down swivelling to face her. I kept my eyes down, staring at the kitchen counter.

"Look at me." She demanded softly.

I rolled my eyes, but grudgingly complied.

I thought she was going to be angry, but all I saw in her eyes was hurt and confusion.

"What's going on Teddy?" She said softly. "Does this have something to do with whatever happened this afternoon?" She prompted.

 _Uh Oh._

"Nothing's going on." I replied shrugging my shoulders. "I lost track of time, I don't see the big deal."

She stared at me, and for a moment it was like she could see right through me. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"We had no idea where you were. You weren't answering your phone. Anything could have happened to you." She whispered, I could hear the worry and panic in her voice.

 _Shit. This really isn't going to plan._

I didn't want to deal with tearful, worried, sympathetic mum. I wanted angry, selfish, so mad-he-may-hit-me dad.

"But nothing DID happened. I'm FINE. Jesus Christ, can I go to bed now?" I asked, the frustration I felt clearly evident in my voice.

She stared at me for a moment longer.

"This isn't going to happen again Teddy." She said firmly. "Is it?"

"Nope." I answered quickly, jumping off the stool and turning towards the stairs.

"Teddy?"

I rolled my eyes again and turned slowly to face her. "What?"

She looked like she was about to say something else, but changed her mind and instead she sighed "Good-night."

"Night." I said hastily, hurrying towards the stairs and taking them two at a time.

I shut the door to my room quietly and collapsed onto my bed.

 _Well…that worked._ My subconscious sneered sarcastically at me.

I let it go. This was only the beginning…they just didn't know it yet.

 **Christian POV**

Ana walked in shaking her head.

"How did it go?" I asked gently as she crawled into bed next to me.

"I don't know what's going on." She whispered. "This is so unlike him."

"I know…And that attitude!" I exclaimed quietly. "Where did that come from?!"

Ana shook her head. "It was like all the years of puberty hit him in 1 night! Did something happen this afternoon?" She asked suddenly.

That threw me for a second. "This afternoon?"

"Yes, right before I came in to tell you about the phone call with the Kate. When I walked down the hallway, I found Teddy just standing there, staring at your door." She frowned.

I tried to think back. Did I even talk to him yesterday? I'd been so busy the last couple of weeks trying to finalise a deal with a shipping company in South Korea. I hadn't been paying much attention…

"Oh, he came in to ask me if I could help him with his homework." I recalled suddenly. "I told him I was busy and said he should go and ask you."

Ana stared at me blankly.

"What?" I asked.

"You were talking and laughing with Phoebe when I came in." She reminded me.

"Yes…" I said, not understanding her point.

"So you're too busy to help your son with his homework…but not too busy to have a conversation with your daughter?" She questioned incredulously.

I frowned as I thought about that for a second.

Phoebe reminded me so much of Mia. No one was ever too busy for her. She had everyone wrapped around her little finger, me especially.

But I loved my children equally. And I treated them equally….didn't I?

"I never looked at it like that." I said honestly and the sudden rush of guilt I felt wounded me.

Ana sighed heavily, "Well at least we know where this sudden onset of teenage rebellion is coming from."

"You reckon that's it?" I asked doubtfully. "Just because I couldn't help him with his homework?"

"I'm sure it's not the first time that's happened in the last few weeks…am I right?" She asked raising her eyebrows.

"I've been busy." I explained. It sounded like a poor excuse as it left my lips. It was a poor excuse.

"I know you've been busy love, I know how hard you've been working to secure this deal. But.."

"I should never be too busy for my family." I finished for her.

She was right, this was all my fault.

I rubbed my face with my hands and then ran them through my hair and shook my head.

"I'm a bad father." I said quietly. The words tore through my heart and brought a lump to my throat.

"No!" Ana whispered loudly, grabbing my hand as she did so. "You're an amazing father. Teddy and Phoebe love and adore you. You just got distracted the last few weeks. But now you know what went wrong, you can fix it."

"How do I fix it?" I pleaded quietly, "What do I do?"

Ana smiled at me and brought my hand to her lips. She kissed it softly and said. "You'll figure it out."

She had such faith in me. But in that moment I had no faith in myself. I'd hurt my son. The one thing I swore I'd never do. I promised him, when he was a tiny baby in my arms in the hospital and Ana lay sleeping beside us. I told him I would always love and protect him and make sure he never wanted for anything. But I'd broken that promise. All he wanted was my attention, and I had denied him that.

"What if he doesn't forgive me?" I pondered out loud.

"He will." Ana assured me, "He loves you, and Phoebe loves you, and I love you." She leaned over and kissed my cheek.

I sighed out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. "And I you, Ana."

"So what do we do about this sudden onset of teenage rebellion?" Ana asked thoughtfully.

"Let it happen." I answered simply.

"You think?" She asked doubtfully.

"I've been there." I assured her. "It's not the behaviour you need to address, it's the reasons behind the behaviour."

"All those therapy sessions finally being put to good use," Ana laughed, crossing her arms and smiling at me.

"What?" I finally asked when she continued to stare at me, smiling.

"Nothing." She said, "Just you." She leaned over and switched off her bedside lamp, then pulled the covers up over herself.

I smiled down at her, shaking my head. "If we give him positive attention but ignore the bad behaviour… He's such a good kid, eventually he'll realise that whatever he's trying to do isn't the best way to go about it."

"See, you know what you're doing." Ana said as she snuggled closer to me. "Everyone makes mistakes Christian. So long as you learn from them, everything will work itself out."

She closed her eyes and I watched as her breathing slowed. It had been a long time since I'd watched Ana sleep, it used to be one of my favourite past times. I sat there a while thinking to myself about how best to go about my plan. The contracts were going to be signed tomorrow and the negotiations finalised so that would no longer be a problem.

I got up from the bed gently, careful not to jostle my sleeping wife. I left the room and walked down the hall to Teddy's door. I opened it slowly, careful not to make a sound.

I took a step into the room, his light was still on but he was sprawled on the bed, fully clothed, shoes still on. His arm was draped over his eyes and he was fast asleep. I shook my head, walked over and took his shoes off gently, pulled the covers up over him and switched off his light.

I stood watching him for a moment. When did he get so grown up? It all happened so fast, it feels like only yesterday that his mother and I were standing here looking into his crib as he slept soundly.

"Oh Teddy Bear," I breathed. "I'm so sorry, I promise I'll make it up to you."

I closed his door silently and headed back to my room, checking on Phoebe as I went. She looked more and more like her mother every day.

As I lay down in bed a few minutes later, and turned out the light, I couldn't help the smile that crept across my face.

Teddy probably thinks this new change of attitude is some kind of genius masterful plan to teach me a lesson. God I love that kid.

Thank goodness he doesn't know what I was like at fifteen…

 _Bring it on kid, you obviously don't know who you're playing with._

Hey Guys!

See?! Christians not a bad guy!

Don't you remember how you were at fifteen?...I do haha

Please send me a review, I love reading them xx


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Teddy POV**

"Time to get up guys, pancakes are waiting for you downstairs!" My dad's voice woke me from outside the door.

 _Pancakes?...On a school day?...Am I still dreaming?_

I sat up rubbing my eyes and slowly began to recall everything that had happened last night.

 _Well...breakfast should be fun._

"They're getting cold!" My dad's voice rang out again.

 _Wait….why is he still here?_ I checked the time. _He's usually long gone by now._

I rolled out of bed and quickly showered. I pulled on Jeans, a T-shirt and my hoodie from last night. I rubbed some gel into my still-damp hair and headed down to face the music.

"There you are!" My mum said handing me a class of orange juice as I walked past the kitchen counter.

My dad was sitting at the head of the table reading the mum came around to sit at his right. Phoebe shoved her last bit of pancake into her mouth and jumped up from the table.

She looked from me to dad and back again, gave me a you're-in-so-much-shit look, pushed her chair in and headed back upstairs to get ready.

Mum loaded up a plate of pancakes for me, and placed it across from her. "Come and eat." She insisted.

I walked slowly over to the chair, sat down and picked up my fork.

"Good Morning Ted," My dad said, folding his paper up and placing in on the table.

I almost dropped my fork.

"M-Morning…" I stammered in reply. _What the fuck is going on..._

"What classes do you have today?" He asked conversationally.

Which at any normal family breakfast would have been a perfectly acceptable and expected question. But this wasn't normal. _This was…what the fuck was this?_

I stared at him, my forkful of pancake suspended in mid-air. My mum was smiling pleasantly at me as she too waited for my response.

"Uhhh… Biology, English and Gym." I said carefully, looking back down at the table.

I slowly put the pancake in my mouth and chewed.

"So you have a free period?" He asked.

I stopped chewing. _What is happening!?…what about last night? Have they forgotten?_

I nodded slowly in response, trying to concentrate on my pancakes.

"After lunch." I added, swallowing loudly.

"Excellent, well I have a meeting that should finish about 12:30, what do you say I pick you up from school, and we can head over to driving range, hit a few balls?"

This time I did drop my fork.

 _Okay, I call bullshit._

"Why would you do that?" I asked reproachfully.

Maybe he was going to kidnap me and send me off to boarding school? Or drive me out to the middle of nowhere and just leave me there.

"Because I can." He said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

 _Oh yea you're dead, he's actually going to murder you._ My subconscious assured me, arms crossed.

"Cool?" My dad prompted, draining the last of the coffee in his cup and getting to his feet.

"Uh…yea I guess." I answered, not knowing what else to say.

"Great," He smiled, "I'll pick you up out front at 12:45."

"Where are you going? Can I come?" Phoebe called out, as she bounded back down the stairs.

"To the dentist." My dad lied smoothly, cocking his head to the side.

"Ew. Gross. Never mind." Phoebe shuddered, shaking her head and grabbing her school bag from the foot of the stairs.

My dad turned his head and winked at me surreptitiously.

I just started back at him, my mouth slightly ajar.

"Alright, I've got to get to the office, I'll see you later Ted." He said as he leaned in to kiss my mum and then disappeared through the hallway.

 _What the actual fuck is going on….?_

"Teddy we're going to miss the bus if you don't hurry up!" Phoebe complained, tapping her foot impatiently.

I looked down at my food. I'd only taken about two bites of my pancake, but I suddenly wasn't hungry.

I downed my orange juice in a few gulps and wiped my mouth on the sleeve of my hoodie.

"Teddy use a napkin!" My mum exclaimed in disgust as I jumped up for the table.

"But I have a perfectly good sleeve right here," I answered, holding up my arm.

She threw the tea towel she was holding at my head, I ducked laughing.

I laughed harder as I picked it up and threw it back to her.

"Off to school, both of you!" She scolded half-heartedly.

"Yes mum," Phoebe and I answered in unison, causing us all to break into a fit of giggles.

"I mean it! Out!" She laughed walking around the counter to give Phoebe a hug.

I kissed her on the cheek as I walked past, "Bye mum!"

"Have a good day!" She called as we headed for the front door.

I was still smiling as I walked down to the edge of the driveway.

"How much trouble did you get in last-night?" Phoebe asked as we waited for the bus.

My smile faded instantly. _That's right, why aren't they still mad at me?_

I just shrugged at her in response.

"Where did you go?" She pressed.

"No where." I answered.

She frowned at me and then shook her head in disapproval. "Whatever. "

After a while she added, "Mum and Dad were so mad last night, and this morning it was like Step-ford family….I mean pancakes on a Friday…weird right?" She mused shaking her head again.

"Mm." I muttered. So I wasn't the only one who noticed.

Suddenly I was anxious to get to school to tell Jesse what had happened. Maybe he'd have some advice for me.

The school bus came around the corner right on cue, and I was silent as I climbed on and headed for my usual seat. I was so distracted that I almost didn't realise someone was already sitting there.

The bus began to move and I quickly changed direction and sat in the same row, across the aisle. I turned glaring, ready to give whoever it was a piece of my mind.

But I stopped. It was a girl, a very very attractive girl.

My glare turned quickly to a stare. I'd never seen her before…or maybe I had?...No, I definitely would have remembered.

Suddenly she looked up at me, and when she saw I was staring she removed her earphones.

"Sorry, did you say something?" She asked apologetically.

I think my brain broke.

I don't know what made me say it but, "You're in my seat. " I replied.

She frowned, confused as she looked down at the seat and back up at me.

"Really?" She said slightly annoyed. "I don't see your name on it." She continued, raising her eyebrows at me.

 _Say something clever, say something clever._

"I mean, I usually sit there." I replied. _Wow...You're an Idiot._

"Well now I'm sitting here." She said slowly, like she was explaining it to a two year old.

"I don't know you." I stated. _Seriously? You're a fuckin genius, just stop talking._

"Probably a good thing." She responded, turning back to her phone and moving to put her earphones back in.

"What's your name?" I asked quickly.

She froze, then slowly put the earphones back down.

"What's YOUR name? I'll write it on the seat for you so we can avoid having this conversation in future."

I ignored her attitude.

"Teddy, my names Teddy, or Ted...I mean whatever, it's short for Theodore - Grey, I'm named after my grandfather, I know it's weird..."

 _Dude...oh my god shut up._

She stared at me for a second, pulled a permanent marker out of the front of her bag and pulled off the cap.

"What are you doing?!" I asked in alarm.

She ignored me, and proceeded to write TEDDY GREY in big letters onto the back of her seat.

"There," She said as she finished, "now everyone will know not to sit here." She smiled at me cheerfully.

I just stared open mouthed at what she had done...that was graffiti...on school property...that was MY name...Oh shit.

The bus pulled up at school, and everyone started filing out.

"See you around Teddy, " She smirked at me, as she swung her bag over her shoulder. She tossed the marker onto my lap as she passed.

I picked it up and stared at it. W _hat the hell am I going to do?!_

"Hey _!_ " The bus driver yelled suddenly. I looked up to see that I was the only one left on the bus.

He got up and stormed down the aisle towards me. "A girl said she saw you write something on one of the seats!"

He reached me in about three strides. He glanced at my shocked face, then at the pen and then at the writing on the seat across from me.

I could almost hear his blood start boiling.

"RIGHT. COME WITH ME!" He shouted, grabbing my back pack pointing for me to go a head of him.

"I didn't d-"

"Save it punk." The bus driver snapped, "I caught you red handed."

I got up and started to make my way off the bus.

"Seriously it wasn't m-"

"Yeah? Well you can tell the principal all about it how it WASN'T you." He grumbled as he followed me off the bus and towards the front doors of the school.

 _Well...Shit._

 _XxXxXx_

 _Hope you like it :D Send me a review! xxx_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Theodore Grey?" the lady at the front desk called loudly.

I looked up from the crack in the floor tiles that I'd been focusing on, stood up and walked slowly over to the middle aged woman at the counter.

"Theodore Grey?" She asked expectantly.

 _No Lady, I just got up and walked over here because I felt like it._ I sneered at her in my head.

"Yep."

"Vice Principal Harrison is ready for you now, just through that door right there." She smiled pointing to the other end of the room.

I nodded again and headed off in the direction she pointed.

With every step I took I felt the sinking feeling in my stomach worsen. I'd never been in trouble before.

 _You've never even been CLOSE to being in trouble before._ My subconscious corrected me.

What do they do to you? I know they don't hit kids anymore…do they?

 _No. But for you they might make an exception._

When I reached the door, I knocked lightly.

"Come in." A muffled voice sounded through the door.

I opened it and walked in.

"Close it behind you." Mr. Harrison said sternly, stacking up a pile of papers and moving them to one side.

I did as I was told.

"Take a seat Teddy." He said sternly.

I sat down in one of the chairs opposite his desk.

After a moment he took a deep breath, folded his arms and leaned back in his chair.

"So…What's going on Ted?" he asked simply.

"What do you mean?" I replied innocently.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "I mean, why has one of this school's best and brightest been caught vandalising school property?"

Oh that… What do I say? Do I tell him what really happened?Maybe I should tell him I have no idea what he's talking about.

If I tell him what really happened, then I'll get that girl in trouble…that really pretty girl…

 _SO?!_ My subconscious screamed at me. _SHE'S THE FUCKING REASON YOU'RE IN HERE!_

After a few moments of deliberation I decided on a course of action.

I shrugged.

Mr. Harrison's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Maybe he was expecting some kind of detailed story that would absolve me of any guilt.

"You don't know?" He asked incredulously. "That's your answer?"

I shrugged again.

"Teddy. Vandalism is a criminal offense, you know that don't you?" He continued briskly.

I nodded.

"Now, I never like to get the police involved in situations like this, but I will suspend you, do you understand that?" He asked quietly.

He waited. I said nothing.

"So unless you have anything else to tell me, I am going to call your parents and get them to come and collect you." He waited again.

 _Tell him. Tell him now._

I shrugged again.

Mr. Harrison sighed heavily. "Okay then."

He didn't waste any more time as he picked up the phone and dialled an extension.

I heard a phone ring from the other side of the door.

"Carol, can you get Theodore Grey's p-"

Suddenly the door burst open.

Ms. Andrews, my home room teacher rushed in, she looked frazzled and out of breath.

Mr. Harrison looked up in alarm.

"Carol – hold on that, I'll call you back." He said quickly hanging up the phone.

"Paige, is everything alright?" Mr. Harrison asked.

"Sorry Bill, one of my students just shared some information with me that I thought you needed to hear." Ms Andrews paused as she tried to catch her breath.

"Well I'm almost finished here, if you'd just give me a mo-"

"The information has to do with what happened on the bus this morning." Ms Andrews interrupted, looking pointedly at me.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, "Why didn't you say so, take a seat." He said leaning back in his chair again.

She sat down, smoothing her hair back into place.

"Penny Michaels, who takes the bus with Teddy in the mornings, told me he wasn't the one that vandalised the seat on the bus. She said it was a girl."

Mr. Harrison looked at me expectantly.

"Ted?" he asked when I said nothing. "Is that true?"

 _Well I guess the cat's out of the bag now. May as well tell him, you dumbass._

I nodded slowly.

He shook his head in frustration "Why didn't you just tell me that in the first place?!"

I shrugged.

"Did Penny say who it was?" He asked, turning back to her.

"No, she said she didn't recognise her, that she must be a new student." She replied shaking her head.

He took a slow calming breath, "Thank-you Paige, I appreciated it." He smiled, dismissing her.

"No problem." She replied standing up and heading for the door. I watched her go.

When she turned around to close the door behind her, I mouthed 'Thank-you.'

She winked back at me and smiled.

I turned back to Mr. Harrison who was typing something into his computer.

"Well Ted, I don't know why you're protecting this girl. What's her name?" He asked, annoyed.

I realised I didn't actually know her name.

I shrugged.

"If you shrug your shoulders at me one more time, I'm going to put you in detention. Is that understood?" He glared at me until I nodded.

"What does she look like?" He asked.

"I don't know, I didn't really see her." I lied, shrugging my shoulders.

Luckily he wasn't watching me when I did it that time.

He stared at his computer obviously looking for something.

I started fidgeting with a stray thread on my T-shirt.

"Amelia Cooper." He said suddenly.

He turned his computer screen to face me. "Is this her?"

I leaned closer to have a look. There was a small school photo on the top left of the screen.

 _Yep. That's her…She really is ridiculously good looking. Amelia…pretty name._

"I don't know." I lied again.

Mr. Harrison sighed, turning the screen back towards him.

"Okay, well I guess that's all I need from you then."

 _Finally._

"But I'd like you to see the school counsellor before you head to class."

"What? Why?" I asked.

"Because this kind of attitude isn't like you at all, and I think it would be beneficial for you have a talk with her." He said looking at me critically.

"No." I said simply.

"Would you rather I called your father and explained this to him instead?" He threatened.

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" I yelled at him.

He look taken aback by my outburst and to be honest, so was I. But I didn't want to go and talk about my feelings with the school councillor/career advisor/9th Grade English Teacher…she smelled like curried egg.

"You're going to go and see her. And that's final." He said quietly after a few seconds.

I just glared at him as he wrote my name on a green slip and handed it to me.

"Head over there now, I'll let her know you're on your way." He stated, tilting his head toward the door.

I got up without so much as a backward glance and wrenched the door open. I grabbed my bag off the bench where I'd left it and headed into the hallway. It took everything I had not to slam the door to the office on my way out.

I leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths.

 _This is bullshit._

The school councillor's chambers was right next to the front office…how convenient.

Wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible, I walked through the small waiting room, straight up to the door and knocked.

"Take a seat Teddy, I'll be with you in a moment." Her voice came through the door.

 _Sure. No problem. Not like I have anything better to do with my time._

I threw my bag down and sat on one of the hard plastic chairs outside the door.

I resumed my fidgeting with the thread on my shirt.

I sensed rather than heard someone enter the waiting room. I looked up, expecting Mr. Harrison.

"Well if it isn't Theodore, Ted, Teddy Grey!" Amelia laughed, walking towards me.

I just stared open mouthed at her as she sat down beside me.

"…Who is still having trouble with his words apparently?" She rolled her eyes and crossed one leg over the other causing her already short skirt to ride up revealing even more of her perfect legs.

I swallowed reflexively, my throat was suddenly very dry.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to make my voice sound like I was annoyed at her, and failing miserably.

"Ah he speaks!" She said smiling. "I'm jumping the gun." She responded.

"You're what?" I asked not understanding.

"Well, by now I'm pretty sure they know it was me who vandalised the bus. Even if you didn't tell…which judging by your presence here, I'm going to guess you didn't…" She glanced at me expectantly.

I shook my head no.

She smirked, then continued, "But by the look on that prissy girl's face this morning, and the way she was glaring at me before homeroom – I'm guessing she's a fan-girl of yours- I'm sure she told on me the first chance she got."

"Penny." I confirmed.

"Ew, really?" She asked. "Of course that's her name."

I chuckled.

"Anyway, the best defence is a good offence." She finished with a shrug.

"So…you're what? Going to turn yourself in?" I asked disbelievingly.

"Sort of. I'm going to plead insanity." She shrugged again. And when I still looked confused she continued in a whisper, "I'm going to cry to the councillor about my home life and hopefully she'll give me a free pass."

"You sound like you've done this before." I guessed.

She smiled, "A few times. It works pretty well until they figure out you're full of shit."

"Are you full of shit?" I asked curiously.

Her smile dropped slightly, only for a second, but I saw it.

She shrugged and continued lightly "Who doesn't have problems with their parentals?"

I opened my mouth to tell her I knew exactly what she meant, but the door next to us opened.

"Okay Anabelle, I'll see you tomorrow morning." Mrs April's voice drifted out, as a short girl in a red dress stepped into the waiting room. She turned the same colour as her dress when she saw me, turned and quickly hurried away.

Amelia watched her go shaking her head. She rolled her eyes at me and mouthed 'fan-girls'.

I grinned at her and shrugged my shoulders in a 'what-can-I-say-the-ladies-love-me' kind of way.

"Okay Teddy, why don't you come in and have a seat," Mrs April said as she appeared in the doorway, writing something on a small notepad.

Amelia smirked at me, winked and then put her head in her hands and started to cry inconsolably.

I had to give it to her, she was a good actress.

Mrs. April looked up from her notepad in alarm.

I looked from her to Amelia and back, and inspiration hit me.

"I think she needs you more than I do miss….I'll come back later." I assured her.

"Okay, yes, thank-you Ted," She nodded, looking at Amelia with concern. "Come in sweetie."

I got up, grabbed my bag and watched as they both disappeared into the office

I smiled once the door was shut, shook my head, and headed off to class.

Jesse is going to flip when he hears about this.

XXXXXXX

Hey Guys! I'm sorry this one took me so long, but I hope it was worth the wait.

Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading xxx


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